


A Hunter's Destiny

by novaquill



Category: Destiny (Video Games), Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Fate Worse Than Death, Gideon is Alecs Ghost, I'm Bad At Titles, M/M, Ragnor is Magnus' Ghost, Temporary Character Death, The Destiny fusion no one wanted, The Taken - Freeform, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, but the one we got anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-27 23:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16229840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novaquill/pseuds/novaquill
Summary: The Taken Knight stumbles towards him, dragging its sword along the ground. It lifts its blade in the air, swings down, and Alec dies for the twelfth time that night.Immortality had its downsides, but Magnus and Alec soon realize that the alternative to this pseudo-immortality is a fate much, much worse than death.





	1. there is a knife for you, it is shaped like [not alone]

_“This is the shape,_

_and the point of the tooth:_

_nothing has ever lived_

_that will not die.”_

-Ghost Fragment: The Hellmouth 

Alec looks over to Magnus and sees him, helmet almost destroyed and armour crumbling to pieces. Bursts of sunlight are erupting from his hands and he makes eye contact with Alec, and nods. He knows what that nod means, and he sighs.

He turns his attention back to the hoard that is slowly trickling through the broken doors. Alec spots a Taken Knight pushing through the army of thrall. It starts walking towards Magnus, so Alec throws his grenade to grab its attention. The Knight twitches as it comprehends what has happened. A shrill shriek leaves the void that is its face and Alec has to stop himself from flinching. Two years since the Taken showed up, and it is still difficult to acclimate yourself to the shrill shrieking and garbled noises.

The Taken Knight struts towards him, dragging its sword along the ground. It lifts its blade in the air, swings down, and Alec dies for the twelfth time that night.

Alec re-awakens outside the abandoned church at the campfire. He pulls out his ghost, and Gideon hastily informs him Magnus is on the verge of death himself and that the Taken are slowly gaining more ground into the church. That is all the information Alec needs to hear before he runs back to the battlefield.

He calls out to Magnus to inform him he’s come back, and then sees Magnus jump into the air.

Alec has seen Magnus do this countless times before during training, but he still never got over the sheer beauty of it. Even in the midst of a stressful battle, Magnus had never looked more elegant as his wings of flames flew him higher and his weapon burst into flame.

The Dawnblade had always been something to marvel at – the warlocks floating in the air as they threw down wave after wave of flames from their swords. At their most powerful, and also their most elegant, the Dawnblade warlocks were the brightest, literally, of all three classes of Warlock.

Orbs of light drop with every taken thrall and knight that is devoured by Magnus’ light. Alec scoops them up hungrily, repowering his suit, and begins to swipe at the remaining enemies with his knives.

Once Magnus descended back to the ground, he managed to take down a few more Thrall before a taken captain barrels into the room, slashing through Magnus’ armour like butter.

How sick was it that they had gotten used to seeing one another die? They’d had to repeat to themselves countless times: They’ll come back, they’ll come back, they’ll come back… It was the only way to keep going in a world where there was a cycle of death that you couldn’t escape. At first they had all believed the Angel’s light to be a blessing, but after a century of watching one another fall in battle, it had started to seem more like a curse.

Alec wants to scream, but he knew that it wasn’t the end, and that Ragnor would certainly bring Magnus back. Sure enough, not even a minute later, Magnus runs in, all his armour intact.

“Magnus, get ready. Arrows incoming!” Alec speaks through the intercom. His suit had been fully recharged and he was getting ready to notch his arrows.

Hunters were known for their grace and agility. Coveted in stealth, with cloaking techniques and soundproof equipment, the Hunters were vastly different then their Warlock and Titan counterparts. The Nightstalkers were those that manifested their powers into archery. As soon as Alec had obtained the Light, he felt his purple bow manifest and since then he had harnessed the power of the Angel and channeled it into every arrow he fired.

Alec scans the room, and sees a wave of Taken pushing over each other, taking down the doors defenses along with them. Now is the perfect time to notch his arrows and string them all together to make one easy target for Magnus.

The Light of the Angel fills him as Alec jumps into the air and pulls back the string of light. He aims the arrow at the center of the crowd of Taken, and lets go.

The arrow torpedoes into the hoard, and as it hits the ground, tendrils of light shoot out, binding all the small, twitching bodies together.

Magnus throws balls of magic at the group, and one by one they start disintegrating as the magic touches them. With the magic of the arrows binding them together, what hurt one, hurt them all.

The purple tendrils retreat as the power wears out, and the few thrall left standing are struck down easily.

Alec takes a deep breath, seeing the last taken thrall dissipate into dust, back into the universe. The Sword is safe, and he and Magnus are alright. He looks to Magnus and the other man laughs.

“Well at least now we’ll be able to go on that date from last week,” he jokes as puts his sword back into its holster and unclasps his helmet.

Alec does the same, but as his hands reach the latches, Gideon springs to life in front of him.

“Somethings not right! There is a massive spike of Taken energy in this area,” Gideon’s light flashes brightly.

“The Sword is still here, that could be what’s interfering with the reading,” Magnus replies, walking to stand next to Alec.

“Maybe, but I’ll scan the surrounding area to be safe,” Alec pushes a series of buttons on his chest piece to activate a grid hologram. “The energy spike is only coming from- Oh, my god.”

“Alexander? What is it?” Magnus and Gideon ask in unison.

“The energy spike doesn’t match any on record for any of the Taken we’ve faced so far – it’s at least ten times more powerful,” Alec quickly runs toward the sword to start putting safeguards in place.

“Alexander, are you sure?”

The only reply Alec can give to Magnus right now is a slight nod, as his hands tremble and his voice is shaky.

“Then, if it is him – then we will have to move the sword. Valentine cannot, in any circumstance, get his hands on it,” Magnus puts his helmet back on and instructs Ragnor to get a birds-eye view of the surrounding area.

“Magnus,” Alec calls to him. The other man turns in an instant. “I think I know a way to fix this. I-if Gideon can portal me out of here, and back to the Tower, I can take this the Vanguard and they can destroy it.”

“Alexander, that plan won’t work, you’d never make it into the city with the sword. The wards are in place to keep Taken out, and the sword is pure Taken energy.”

“Fine, I’ll get Gideon to portal me to just outside the city and then I can contact them to grant me entrance.”

Even through their helmets, Alec was giving Magnus a look that told him there was no fighting him. This was what needed to be done – the Vanguard was set in place to protect them, and protect them they would do. They would know how to handle the Sword and to make sure it never lands in the wrong hands.

“Alexander, please, we need time to come up with a better plan-” Magnus tries, but he takes a step toward Alec and Alec already has Gideon out and is preparing to transport.

“We don’t _have_ time, Magnus! If he gets his hands on the sword, it’s all over!” Alec is desperate to get this over with. He wishes they had more time to think of a rational plan, but there just _isn’t any_. He throws Magnus a quiet “I’m sorry,” before Gideon portals him out, taking the sword with him.

He lands in a field that he doesn’t recognize. This isn’t right – he had input coordinates just a few miles outside the city.

“Gideon, what is this? Where are we?” he asks his ghost.

Gideon appears as his name is mentioned and scans the surrounding area. “I am afraid I do not know. We are in the Dead Zone, but I am not familiar with this area.”

Alec looks around and sees nothing but trees. The sky is a burnt orange and the trees are browning from drought, but what Alec notices most, is the silence. It’s quiet. He must be in the desolate center of the Dead Zone.

“It’s alright, we still have the sword,” Alec says as he pulls out the sword and holds it tightly. “We just need to get the message to them that we’re coming.”

Alec begins transmitting a message to the Vanguard, telling them what had transpired and that he needs immediate access to their vault to put the sword in capable hands.

He finishes sending the message, and then sends another, more brief this time, to Jace and Isabelle. He tells them that he won’t make it back in time for their preplanned dinner, and that they should reschedule.

Alec waits until he receives a response from the Vanguard. His face falls as they tell him not to teleport to the city.

Instead, they inform him that they will be sending Fireteams to rendezvous with them at their location.

“Gideon, ready defense systems and be on high alert for any changes in Taken activity.”

Just as Gideon confirms the instructions, a flash of light to Alec’s left catches his eye and he raises the sword, ready to attack the unknown entity.

“Alexander, it’s me,” Alec calms instantly at the sound of Magnus’ voice. “and put that down, neither of us know the power we could be dealing with.”

Alec looks to his hand and realizes the sword he had been prepared to strike with was indeed the Taken Sword. It felt natural to Alec to raise up the sword and to swing it down, the thought slightly terrified him. That must be how Taken feel, acting on instinct, with no thought as to why they were doing what they were doing. No thinking, only doing.

“Magnus, not that I don’t like seeing you, but why are you here?” Alec asks, lowering the sword and taking a step toward his boyfriend.

“Alec, we have to get out of here, now!” Magnus summons Ragnor hurriedly. “Prepare transportation for two, plus the sword. We have to get somewhere safe.”

“Magnus I don’t understand – were in the middle of nowhere, why are we in danger?” Alec puts his free hand on Magnus’ shoulder. “What’s going on?”

“Right after you left, a new wave of taken showed up, and Valentine was among them” Magnus says, and Alec has never heard such fear in his voice.

Gideon and Ragnor both turn away from their guardians. “No, it’s not possible,” they say in unison.

“What’s happening?” Magnus asks as a low rumbling sound is heard in the distance.

The rumbling gets closer and closer until both guardians can feel it in their bones.

“Ragnor, we have to go, _now_!” Magnus calls out, just as Alec pleads with Gideon to do the same.

A tear opens up a few meters in front of them. It looks like a claw mark in the landscape itself. Demonic energy spilling out as the angry, raw, red edges of the tear slowly close. A looming figure steps out of the blackened area.

“Valentine,” is the only word Alec is able to speak.

“Now, gentlemen, no need to cause a scene,” Valentine laughs. “I am merely here to reclaim what is rightfully mine.”

There is no time to argue as he flashes forward and suddenly Alec can feel the cold, dead eyes focused on him.

“A Guardian of Light wielding the sword of the Taken, how ironic.”

“It isn’t yours to take! It belongs with the Vanguard!” Alec tells him, standing stoic. “If a Guardian needs to taint himself by holding the sword to ensure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, then so be it.”

Valentine huffs. “Oh, you brave little soldier boy,” he extends a finger out toward Alec. “I will say I’m impressed by your determination, but I am afraid I will be taking that sword back, whether your hand is still attached or not. Tell me, if you revive yourself with your hand cut off, will your hand regrow?”

“Don’t you touch him!” Magnus screams, extending his hand.

Alec feels everything stop. This was one of Magnus’ talents that he seldom used. Time stopped, everything was frozen, yet Alec could still hear, touch, see, smell and taste as he could before.

Valentine stands frozen, his hand extended toward the sword, his face turned towards Alec.

“Ragnor, send a message to the Vanguard, tell them we have Valentine here, frozen,” Magnus says quickly before readying his magic.

He watches as Magnus starts powering up his suit, getting ready to unleash the Dawnblade once again.

The flames start roaring around them, encapsulating the three men. Magnus aims his blade right at Valentine’s head.

Alec screams on the inside, he wants to call to Magnus.

Valentine is smiling, but not in the way he was before. Alec watches as his once tooth-filled grin turns into a smirk.

Then Valentine turns his head towards Magnus, and laughs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...please don't hate me.


	2. there is a knife for you, it is shaped like [division]

“ _You are a dead thing,_

_made by a dead power ,_

_in the shape of the dead._

_All you will ever do is kill._

_You do not belong here._

_This is a place of life_.”

–Pujari, Legend: The Black Garden

Magnus stands alone in the church. His hands burn with fire wanting to escape. Alec had always been stubborn and lawfully good, much to Magnus’ dismay. Not that Magnus didn’t believe in Alec, but Alec would do what he thought was right until it bled him dry.

His sweet, caring, loving, stubborn and beautiful Alexander, loyal to a fault.

Magnus wishes with all his heart that Alexander’s plan will work. He doesn’t know what will happen to him or Alec if the plan goes awry.

He readies his weapon, and slowly moves towards the entrance from which the Taken had once filed in. He walks carefully, using the stealth tactics Alexander was slowly trying to teach him.

Magnus had told Alec on multiple occasions that he would never be able to make it as a Hunter. Granted, stealth wasn’t the only aspect of the Hunters, but what was a Hunter if not stealthy?

He couldn’t fathom walking into a room full of people and not getting seen. Magnus had lived his life in the limelight, always being noticed. It wasn’t a question of vanity but rather a question of reputation. All wanted to know about how the son of Oryx was able to wield the Angel’s Light.

Magnus is pulled out of his thoughts when he hears faint chattering. Clicking of mouths, scratching of talons on the cement floor, a low buzzing noise emanating from the end of the hallway.

He recognizes that sound.

“Shit, more Taken,” he mutters to himself. He pulls out Ragnor. “Rag, go do a quick sweep of the hallway. Be stealthy.”

The Ghost does at it is told and quietly floats up to the ceiling. Magnus watches him make his way towards the noise and come flying back.

“Guardian, the Taken currently entering are small in number-” Magnus can’t help but interrupt his Ghost.

“I’m feeling like there is a ‘but’ coming up,” he whispers, sighing.

“Unfortunately, it appears that, although they are small in number, Valentine himself is with them.”

“Okay, thank you Rag. I’ll take it from here,” Magnus crouches down. He is grateful for the few lessons Alexander had taught him about stealth as he uses them now to his advantage. He slowly backs up, careful not to alert the Taken, and finds cover within the church.

He listens and hopes he is not spotted.

Valentine’s voice booms throughout the empty building.

“Find it! It has to be here somewhere!”

Magnus has to leave and warn Alec. If Valentine was able to track the sword to the remote church, he would be able to track it anywhere.

As quietly as he can, Magnus summons Ragnor once more. He instructs his Ghost to lock onto Alecs location.

Magnus’ feet land with an almost inaudible crunch as the dead grass and dead leaves are the only thing cushioning his landing.

He looks to his right and sees Alexander next to him, holding up the sword ready to strike.

Magnus informs him about Valentine at the church and readies for a transport.

The next few minutes happen in a blur and yet they are ingrained crystal clear in Magnus’ memories.

 

He sees Valentine reach toward Alec, and he can’t keep his calm anymore.

“Don’t you touch him,” Magnus yells, and he feels the magic explode out of him like a damn opening.

Time stops. Valentine is frozen with his hand outstretched towards the sword, and Alexander stands, his mask concealing any expression.

In the past, he’d been able to control his ability and Alexander wouldn’t be affected by it, however with such time sensitive action, Magnus hadn’t been able to concentrate on who to freeze, so he froze everything.

“Ragnor, send a message to the Vanguard, tell them we have Valentine here, frozen,” he tells his Ghost as he extends his hand, ready to incapacitate Valentine in his vulnerable state.

Just as he’s about to unleash his magic, he hears a laugh, and Valentine is looking at him.

Magnus’ eyes widen as he realizes what is happening.

Before he can act, Valentine raises his other hand toward Magnus and grabs his throat in a vice-like grip.

“Poor, young Warlock, so foolish to think that your little parlour tricks would affect me,” Valentine taunts in a condescending tone of voice that sounds like nails on a chalkboard to Magnus. “I can admire your gusto, though.”

He can’t breathe and he’s about to pass out when Valentine throws him to the ground.

The hand, encased in black and white flames, extended towards Alec moves closer to the sword currently in the hunters grasp. He plucks it from the others hand like it’s nothing and holds the sword in his hands as he turns to Magnus.

“You see, I could kill you,” Valentine tells Magnus as he brings the blade to rest on his shoulder. “but that wouldn’t be nearly enough fun.”

Magnus gets up with the little energy he has left and takes a step toward the other man when multiple small twitching bodies appear and restrain him. Under normal circumstances he would be able to fight them off easily, but having just come from the brink of consciousness, he is at his weakest.

“No, no, Warlock, you can’t ruin any of our fun,” Valentine scolds Magnus, walking back towards Alec. “you see, I think I’ve figured out the way to really hurt you. It’s by hurting _him_ ,” he extends the tip of the sword towards Alexander’s still unmoving body. “This brave little hunter who grabbed the sword and wielded it as if it were an extension of his own body.”

“No, please,” Magnus can’t believe he’s hearing himself plead with Valentine of all people, but he cannot under any circumstance let anything happen to his Alexander. “don’t kill him, I’ll do anything.”

Valentine lets out a laugh that shakes Magnus to his core. “Oh, silly Guardian, I’m not going to kill him. That would be a waste of a perfectly good soldier.”

The grin he gives Magnus is one that will haunt the Guardian for the rest of his days.

“What I’m going to do will be much worse.”

Valentine walks over to Alexander and raises the sword above the hunters head. He lowers the Sword to rest on one shoulder, and then does the same on the other side.

“Besides,” he brings the sword back to above Alexanders head and points it directly in the center of his helmet. “I’m in need of a new general.”

Alec’s finger twitches and Magnus has a fleeting moment of hope that he was able to break free of whatever Valentine had just done.

But the finger keeps twitching, and then shortly after his hand twitches, and his arm follows suit.

A wave of darkness washes over Alexander, covering all of his armour and erasing any sounds the Hunter may have made. It was replaced with a shrill shrieking sound with clicks mixed in intermittently.

Soon enough, the Hunters entire body is twitching involuntarily.

 It takes less than two minutes for Alexander to lose full control of his body and to succumb to the darkness he had been presented with.

It takes less than two minutes for Magnus’ world to come crumbling down.

Alec had been taken. He now belonged to Valentine, his body following every command the man would give and his mind not being able to stop it.

Alexander was now a Taken Guardian, the first of its kind.

Many thought it was impossible to achieve such a feat. To replace the Light in a Guardian, the fundamental part of what them _a Guardian_ , and replace it with something as dark and twisted and corrupt as Taken energy was absurd.

Yet here Alec stood, twitching involuntarily and defying all what was previously thought possible.

“Now, to see if you’ve still got your skills,” Valentine smirks and points a finger toward Magnus. “General, kill this pesky Guardian.”

Magnus feels the tears starting to fall one by one, as he watches Alec - his sweet, beautiful Alexander- turn his body completely towards him.

Alec takes a few steps and Magnus almost laughs. The once graceful Hunter has the grace and stealth of an elephant. His legs twitch as they walk and he seems to have two left feet, but he still manages to make his way towards his boyfriend.

The bow once used to channel Nightstalker energy was now black as night, with white flames surrounding it. Alec raises it like a sword and swings down at Magnus.

Magnus screams, screams at Alec to stop, to break free from whatever hold Valentine has on him. He screams at the Taken holding him down to let him go, knowing it’s all useless. The pull of the Taken was one of the strongest in the Galaxy. Nothing had ever broken free from its corruption.

Alec is suddenly pushed violently to the side by a flaming hammer that evaporates as quickly as it comes. He falls limp to the ground, his extremities still twitching irregularly. Another hammer flies towards Valentine, but he is able to avoid it with ease.

Magnus sees Jace run in headfirst. Titans were known for durability and often took the front lines during battle. The Sunbreakers harnessed the powers of the Sun and used it to wield the flames of Sol and guide those who would stray from the Light. They were hot headed, no pun intended, and Jace would often get into trouble for acting too rash.

Knowing one of the Lightwood siblings was here, Magnus knows the final one couldn’t be too far behind.

Magnus gives a sigh of relief when he hears lightning crackle through the air as the taken bodies surrounding him start to evaporate.

Isabelle Lightwood, the Stormcaller, had arrived. She is a warlock, as Magnus himself, yet she chose to harness the power of the lightning that was inherent in every being. Using her powers to manifest storms of lightning and harness the power of Light itself.

The two Lightwood siblings turn their attention toward Valentine when Magnus assures Isabelle that he’s fine.

Magnus doesn’t pay much attention to the battle, as his attention lies solely on his Alexander that is still laying prone on the ground.

He doesn’t even know where to begin. Magnus has never been this close to a Taken he wasn’t killing – he had no idea how to handle them when they weren’t moving.

No, not a Taken – this was a Guardian, _his_ Guardian, _his_ Alexander.

Magnus looks over at Jace and Isabelle, he sees them bombard Valentine with flaming hammers and balls of lightning. They were both supercharged and were hitting him with everything they had to offer.

“Enough!” Valentine roars. “General, to me!” He raises his hand and suddenly Alec’s body starts twitching and getting up.

Magnus tries to hold him down, but Valentine’s pull is too strong. Alec is ripped from his arms as he surges to his feet and walks towards his siblings, taken bow materializing in his hand.

Magnus follows him, but is stopped once again. “Valentine, stop this!” He cries, even if he knows it will fall on deaf ears.

Alec trudges forward towards his siblings. Magnus can hear small clicking noises coming from him, along with the slightest hint of the Taken shriek. It stings Magnus to the core.

Valentine has the audacity to laugh. “General, do me a favour and kill these two pesky Guardians.”

“Izzy! Don’t!”

She turns to look at Magnus and to question his outburst when she narrowly misses a blade swing by her.

Alec lunges at his sister, swinging his bow clumsily. He misses and is rewarded with a bolt of electricity to his back.

He falls to the ground but immediately gets back up without missing a beat. This time, he is rewarded with a ball of fire to the chest.

Alec raises his sword and swings blindly at his siblings, when everything freezes once again.

It’s the first time Magnus hasn’t been the one freezing time, and he must admit it feels peculiar. Being able to sense everything but not act on it was a unique experience. It wasn’t one he particularly enjoyed.

Valentine walks across the battlefield. “As much as I would love to see this sibling battle royale play out,” he steps over to Alec and puts his hand on his head. “It seems my General has a lot of training to do. Newborns are so clumsy.”

Valentine looks directly at Magnus as he has the audacity to _pet_ Alec’s head, and he _laughs_. It was something that always brought comfort to Alec when Magnus stroked his hair. Magnus thought it looked wrong with someone else doing it towards his boyfriend.

The two Taken disappear in a tear similar to the one Valentine arrived in, and in a flash, Magnus loses Alec for the second time that day.

As the two Taken leave, time resumes.

Magnus feels Jace and Isabelle stand behind him, and he can tell they have questions that he isn’t ready to answer.

Magnus falls to his knees where Alec once stood and he yells. Yells in anguish and anger, for all of it was unfair.

“You Lightwoods are always so stubborn,” Magnus grits out.

“Magnus, what are you talking about?” Izzy takes a step towards him. “and where is Alec?”

Magnus gives a small bitter chuckle. “You were just fighting him.”

“What?” Jace exclaims. “But that was a Taken -”

“Yes Jace, I am aware. Valentine took the sword and turned him into that- that _thing_ ,” Magnus turns to face them. “And now we have no idea where he is.

“I’ve never felt so powerless than when Valentine made me watch as he turned Alec, took him away from us. He looked me right in the eye and he _laughed_ as the darkness overtook him.”

“Magnus, it wasn’t your fault,” Jace puts his hand on Magnus’ shoulder and squeezes. “You did everything you could.”

“Thank you, Jace,” Magnus puts his hand over Jace’s. “It’s not my fault, it’s _his_.”

“You’re right, Magnus, this _is_ Valentine’s fault,” she puts her hand out to Magnus to help him up. “And we’ll make him pay for this.”

Magnus takes her hand gratefully and stands up.

They stand in the field and Magnus looks to where the tear had been, where Valentine had dragged Alexander through to his lair.

He can feel the dead grass start to burn around him and yet he can’t bring himself to care. He would burn the world if it meant getting Alexander back. And he _would_ get his Alexander back, if it was the last thing he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....please don't hate me... again.  
>  This entire thing sprouted out of that Black Garden quote - i loved it so much and it just... transformed into almost 5k words.  
> (Chapter Title taken from The Taken Psion Grimoire card)


End file.
